Torr Giffard the setting

The pictures shown on this Flickr site describe the setting for the layout well   http://www.flickr.com/places/United+Kingdom/England/Weare+Giffard

The River Torridge changes in nature at the weir to the south of the railway bridges with the tidal ebb and flow to/from the northern/seaward side meeting the water draining from the North Devon countryside.     

Torr Giffard trackplan

Baseboard progress

Bearing in mind that the largest individual baseboard (fiddle yard or scenic) should be 6ft x 2ft I am looking for a piece of plate glass of these dimensions. The local glass supplier estimates £150 for a piece 8mm thick. The glass, once properly supported across the long work table, will be a very flat surface on which to begin fabricating the aluminium structure of the baseboard/baseframe. I am still sourcing the correct sections and qualities of aluminium for the job.

Stockwise, Ultrascale are still working on the P4 wheelsets for the new Dapol class 22; I will need wheelsets for the Hornby T9 and the Bachmann Warship. Is anyone aware of the best source of Bulleid coaching stock?  

Baseboard construction

The attraction of strong/durable but light baseboard units has focussed my attention on the advantages of a sectional aluminium construction rather than a traditional plywood and timber approach. The sloping valley sides and railway bridge over river nature of the proposed layout suggest a widely varying topography for which a minimal aluminium skeleton might offer the widest range of scenic options. However, P4 finescale demands very high standards of track alignment and construction in order to deliver flawless train operation, so the challenge is there. A principle baseboard width of 2ft will allow the boards to pass easily through doorways,whilst, 4ft or 6ft max lengths will make transportation to exhibitions more viable. The precision locating dowels from the EM gauge society are perfect for locating each board in relation to its neighbour and will be my method of choice. I would like a mean baseboard height of around 3ft for the valley floor so as to alter the viewing perspective of the onlookers i.e. looking down into the valley. The format will be a 'Y' shaped version of an 'end to end' layout with an approximate 8ft x 16ft centrally located scenic section to give more depth and flexibility. The 3 fiddle yard/storage sections will be 2ft by 12ft.   

In effect LSWR Torr Giffard will be Coleford jnc relocated to the scenery around Torrington giving the increased/variety of traffic benefit of Plymouth to Exeter LSWR services, as well as those between Ilfracombe/Barnstaple and Exeter. A theoretical Wenford bridge style branch on the Plymouth route west of Coleford jnc, requiring Beattie well tanks to work clay trains to Fremington quay via Coleford jnc and Barnstaple further adds to my motivation to complete this layout. The name Torr Giffard links the River Torridge with the geographically similar Weare Giffard in the double barrel name style typical of the area.     

The former LSWR railway routes of North Devon and Cornwall have long held a certain fascination for me although, as a child of the sixties I have little recollection of them at first hand. Instead, sunny pictures in books and  magazines featuring the River Torridge around Barnstaple with distinctive curving girder bridges carrying an attractive mixture of LSWR steam and first generation diesel hauled trains have lodged in my mind. This in turn has resulted in holidays spent exploring the area/cycling the old railway trails and the accumulation of yet more associated material, as well as items of rolling stock for a possible model. Discovering the 'Withered Arm' DVD by B&R videos and purchasing period Working Timetables for the 1960s has further inflamed by interest and curiosity.
More recently, thoughts of modelling a prototypical location gave way to the attraction of combining most of my favourite aspects of the LSWR into a ficticious blend of location and scenery with a healthy flow of trains (important for an exhibition layout). Priorities included: the wide, shallow and gentle flowing River Torridge as seen between Bideford and Torrington, being crossed by one of the low, curving girder bridges, as was to be found at Barnstaple; Dapol helped too by announcing their class 22 loco, whilst the Beattie Well tank and T9 'Greyhound' types have also been produced in 4mm model form. Bulleid and Maunsell coaches in the attractive deep green shade are also available from several manufacturers.
Mental images of a wooded valley containing the River and a LSWR style junction station with lattice signals controlling a 1960 to 67 spread of suitable rolling stock, to show the prototypical progression, have resulted in various layout/trackplan sketches and enquiries as to suitable baseboard construction.            

Background

This model of the LSWR in north Devon is set in a ficticious but typical location and  will cover the transition period 1959-71. Typical trains of the period will show the progression into BR Western region operation from 1963. Declining LSWR steam types will yield initially to standard BR steam types and in turn the first generation diesel classes.